Owen Valley High School Teachers Teaming To Improve School’s AYP Status With State

High School Fails To Make Headway For Fourth Straight Year

by Michael Stanley Staff Writer

Owen Valley High School was recently placed on academic probation by the Indiana Department of Education after failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the fourth straight year. (Staff Photo) Students and teachers at Owen Valley High School are currently receiving extra attention from the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) and Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett after failing to make improvements for the fourth consecutive school year.

“They have been moving into (academic probation) status because of their scores, but because of the new legislation coming out with Dr. Bennett, it’s become more of an issue for us at this point,” Spencer-Owen Community Schools Superintendent Greg Linton said Thursday. “It’s been a trend in the sense that they haven’t made AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) for the last three years with this year being number four. It’s not something that’s happened over night, it’s been an ongoing issue that we’ve been dealing with, trying to get things turned around.”

The IDOE and Dr. Bennett have been adamant about schools achieving set goals in standardized testing, math, English, attendance and graduation rates.

“The standard that they use is the student pass rate on the end of course assessment for Algebra One and English 10,” Linton said. “Then your graduation rate and attendance rate also figure into that formula, so any one of those pieces could cause you not to make AYP if there is a substantial drop or if there isn’t a substantial increase.”

Owen Valley has plenty of time for turnaround yet before the state would step in to make changes. Any school in Indiana who remains on academic probation for six consecutive years is subject to intervention by Dr. Bennett and the Department of Education. According to Indiana Public Law 221, the state precursor to the federal No Child Left Behind Act, a management team could be assigned to manage all or part of the school. Each district is asked to sign a ‘Memorandum of Agreement’ that will outline the issues and what schools must do. That’s something S-OCS Curriculum Director Brock Beeman has no intentions of encountering.

“Brock and I have both been working diligently with the staff at the high school to address these issues. I think the teachers at the high school, as well as our acting principal and assistant principal, are taking it very seriously,” Linton explained. “There have been several steps they’ve taken to address these issues to ensure kids start passing the tests or are more successful in the testing. They’re also looking at ways to encourage kids to improve their attendance and ultimately to stay in school and graduate. That’s what we’re doing as a school system. You enter as a kindergartner and the assumption is that we’re going to produce a well-educated graduate twelve years later. We can definitely do a better job.”

Currently, Acting OVHS Principal George Jennings and Acting Assistant Principal Rhonda Shaffer are assisting teachers in various aspects of improvement.

“I am very encouraged by the inhouse leadership at the high school and the steps they’re taking, working along with Central Office administration to take this seriously,” Linton noted “It’s not something I think the staff is taking lightly, there is a lot of pride in the teachers at the school and they want to be proud of their results. I look forward to the results of this year’s tests, I think they’re going to be a lot better.”

So far, the team effort among OVHS teachers has been a huge step in the right direction according to Linton, who noted confidence in the next round of testing.

“I know they’re doing some writing across the curriculum, where teachers in all subject matter get involved in providing students more opportunity to write in the classroom, not just in English and not just in math. They’re not just leaving the school success issue on the backs of the English and math teachers,” Linton added. “Teachers across the curriculum are working together to support those two departments so that when it comes time for the students to take the test, they are successful. That’s the way successful schools do it, they don’t put it on the backs of two departments. They get together as a school and work together to make sure students are successful. Kids win in that, and that’s the ultimate goal, for that graduate to walk across the stage with a diploma.”